Regional briefs

WASHINGTON — Authorities say a Marine Corps gunnery sergeant has pleaded guilty to conspiring to steal more than 70 electrical generators from two Marine bases in Iraq in 2008.

The U.S. Department of Justice said Wednesday that 40-year-old Eric Scott Hamilton of Pelzer pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to two counts of conspiracy to steal public property.

Court documents say Hamilton admitted that while he was in charge of a military storage yard at Camp Fallujah in 2008, he conspired with a Marine Corps officer to steal electrical generators.

Hamilton faces up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. As part of his guilty plea, Hamilton agreed to pay $124,944 in restitution to the United States. A sentencing date has not been set.

CLYBURN SAYS HE HOPES TO CUT DEEPER THAN $1.5T

COLUMBIA — South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn says he hopes to use his appointment to Congress’s debt-reduction supercommittee as a way to ensure tax loopholes are closed, waste is found and even military spending cuts are considered.

The Democrat also told reporters Thursday he’s hopeful the 12-person panel will go even further than its goal of $1.5 trillion in budget savings over the coming decade.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi announced Clyburn’s appointment to the panel Thursday. It’s composed equally of Democrats and Republicans from the House and Senate and has until Thanksgiving to reach its goal.

Clyburn says the panel must also look at budget fraud and abuse. He says military budgets must be contemplated — something also suggested by former Defense Secretary Robert Gates.